The first of May marked the beginning of a new era in Duke field hockey as Liz Tchou was promoted from assistant to head coach. Tchou replaces Jacki Silar, who made the move, after 15 years of running the program, to become Duke's Senior Women's Administrator on a full-time basis.
The head coaching position is a fulfillment of a dream for Tchou, who is currently in Atlanta preparing to play for the United States National team in the Olympics.
"I was shocked actually," Tchou said. "Its been my dream to be a Division I head coach for many number of years. I knew it would happen eventually, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. I thought that after the Olympics I could apply for jobs and maybe something would come up.
"Plus, it was the day before the start of our Olympic trials, so I was more focused at the time on my second dream-becoming an Olympian. I was really happy to get that kind of out of the way before the trials."
Player reaction to the hiring was equally as enthusiastic, but far less surprised.
"I was excited when I heard-that is the only word I can think to use," junior forward Alison DeLeo said. "It's sort of what I expected. It is the natural progression, [Tchou] being our assistant coach for two years. She really knows what Duke field hockey is all about, and she really has a good idea where she wants us to go from where we are."
Tchou spent the last two years as an assistant under Silar where she concentrated on working with the Blue Devil field players. Tchou's experience as an assistant is extensive. She was at Temple for three seasons ending in 1991 and worked one-year stints at Virginia and North Carolina. But the switch from a career assistant to a head coach is sure to be full of bumps.
"It's going to be a huge transition for me because I am so used to being in and out: there in the fall, and then gone in the spring," Tchou said. "I wasn't ever very actively involved in the recruiting process during my years as an assistant. As a head coach I'll have to be concerned with all of the little things I've never had to worry about. It should be very interesting."
Both coach and players anticipate the same attitude for next season. Sweeping change does not seem to be needed, nor desired; instead, the focus will be on hard work and fundamentals.
"I'm a very technical coach," Tchou said. "My philosophy is to give the kids knowledge of the game and to assist them in making decisions on the field. I don't know that there will be a lot of changes from what Jacki has done with the kids. I know that I will be giving them a lot of the newest techniques of the game, probably doing a lot of the training I've done in the past. I really want to discipline them into doing the fundamentals well."
"I know for a fact that she is going to work our butts off," DeLeo said. "She knows the game extremely well, and being a player, being an Olympian, I think is going to be a huge insight into the fine points of the game we might not have used as much as we could've."
Her career as a player has been extensive. She was a U.S. National team member in 1989 and 1991 and has participated in six Olympic Festivals. She also competed in the 1989 Intercontinental Cup and the 1994 World Cup games.
Tchou had an exceptional collegiate career at the University of Iowa, highlighted by a National Championship in 1987. The team also claimed three Big Ten Championships and three NCAA Final Four appearances during her four years. Individually, she received a number of accolades including the Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is given to players for academic and athletic excellence, four 1st team All-Big Ten selections, one All-America selection, and a retired jersey-the first in the history of Hawkeye women's athletics.
Now, as she prepares to compete in the Olympics and readies herself to take over the Duke program, she has come to fulfill her two loftiest goals in field hockey.
"I made the Olympic team on May 15th, so within two weeks I was on top of the world," Tchou said.
She will spend the next month and a half training and living the "full Olympic experience", which includes the obligatory visit to the White House. After the games end in early August, she will take a little time off to recuperate before she returns to Duke, waiting to arrive on campus until a few days before the start of the preseason.
As far as her playing days are concerned, she feels that she has gone as far as she can, and that the Duke job should be her primary focus.
"I think that I am pretty much finished with playing," Tchou said. "[Coaching] is my commitment now. I don't see myself continuing as a player beyond the Olympics."
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